All About that Stupor Lazor!

So I’ve seen Stars Wars: Rogue One twice now and I must say it’s hard to find a flaw in it, that is apart from the CGI Tarkin. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, prepare yourself now. Peter Cushing is back, by the dark wizardry of mocap!

That’s not to say they didn’t do a good job bringing the character to life, but you know he’s not real, and somehow that makes every scene he’s in very hard to digest. Seriously, every time I saw him on screen I had trouble paying attention because I just kept thinking he’s a 3D model, an illusion, an apparition! I know I know, this is nothing new. This is certainly not the first in the Star Wars franchise to employ computer generated characters, but bringing back the likeness of a long dead actor is a grey area to say the least. I will say though, CGI Tarkin is DEFINITELY not a deal breaker. The movie is fantastic for many other reasons.

Rogue One is a film that fits in with the saga like a long lost missing piece. Watching it, you get all the nostalgic feels from when you first saw A New Hope. It’s Rebels versus Imperials again, with no gungan in sight, and it’s awesome. Not only that, but its ending places you right at the beginning of episode 4, with no details missed or altered.

The main reason to go and see it though is definitely that giant pseudo moon. If there’s one thing this movie did way better than the originals, it’s the scaling. Early on, you’re re-reminded just how gargigantuanhuge (that’s not a word, I don’t care) the death star truly is. Placing a few star destroyers in front of it makes the size of this ball o death ever more clear. It’s an intimidating visual that made me and my friends a bit uneasy. I’m sure that was the point though.

Then of course there’s the super laser firing scenes. A lot of viewers may complain they lack the same explosive amazement we saw in episode 4, but I say the effects and slow progression of destruction was a nice poetic touch.

All in all, Rogue One is a terrific escape to a galaxy far far away and worth your ticket.

Josiah Huckins is the founder of SUCH BLOG! and Huckins Graphics. He's loves science, technology and sci-fi so much, it hurts. Honing the powers of both cranial hemispheres, he's been working in the Design and IT/Devops industries for 8+ years. Josiah loves RTS and RPG gaming, epic movies and conspiracy theories.